KENNETHW.CONDIT

A retired Defense Department historian, died Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at Collington Episcopal Lifecare Community in Mitchellville, MD.

Mr. Condit was born in New York City, on January 26, 1920, and grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated from Princeton University in 1942. Following service in the U.S. Army in World War II, he resumed his studies at Princeton and received a masters' degree in history in 1949.

In 1951, Mr. Condit moved to Washington, DC, to join the Historical Branch of the U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters, where he assisted in the preparation of the official Marine Corps histories of World War II and Korea. In 1961, he transferred to the Historical Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

From 1979 until his retirement in 1983, Mr. Condit, as chief of the Histories Branch of the Historical Division, was general editor of the official JCS history of the Cold War years. He is the author of two volumes of this history as well as numerous special studies in support of the Joint Staff.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Doris E. Condit; his daughters Caroline W. Bahler of Plainwell, MI and Victoria W. Tull of Rehoboth Beach, DE. He is predeceased by his brother Paul T. Condit and sister Anna R. Condit.

Kenneth Condit loved the water, and spent many hours sailing on the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. In his youth he was an accomplished skater. He enjoyed gardening, walking outdoors, reading and writing (as he did for a living), and most of all he loved his wife and family for all his adult life. He was a cherished father and friend, and his spirit lives on in all who knew him.

A celebration of Ken Condit's life will be held at St. Columba's Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle St., N.W. Washington, DC 20016 at 11 a.m. on Friday, September 20, 2013.